1) Overall value, I don't mind paying $300 for a trout reel as long as I find $300 worth of value
2) Mfg reputation so when I decide its time to sell that $300 trout reel I get a decent price back.
3) Warranty , if I am spending top dollar on equipment piece of mind in a solid warranty helps
4) Prefer USA made

MoscaPescador nailed the three key points I'd make. Reliability, durability, suitability, and built in North America are key factors for me.

I do have some fishing gear built in China and Korea (and I'm willing to bet that most if not all of the messages in this thread were typed on computers/iPads/phones that were built or sourced components from one of those countries) but prefer to buy N. American stuff when I can. Ross, Abel and Tibor reels (in the US), Islander (in Canada), Sage and Loomis rods, Filson clothing, Simms waders, Cutthroat Leaders and others not only make great products with lifetime warranties but by buying from those companies you are keeping the innovation, manufacturing, servicing, and corporate presence in N. America. I just wish Canada had more tackle manufacturers.

I love all the answers. It is great to know what our potential customers are looking for. We have been working our hardest to release quality products ONLY. To us quality means it will last for a very long time, not fail on the field, use quality materials, and be made with precision and care.

Many of you said USA made is important when you make a purchase. I will say that we are doing a ton of research to eventually make many of our reels here in the USA. The reason that so many USA made reels cost a premium is that the manufacturing costs here in US are extremely high. It is almost impossible to make reels in the USA at an affordable price. We dont want to be a company that uses made in the USA a marketing tool. Today a product only has to 51% manufactured in the states to carry the label "made in the USA". Part of living in the world we are in today is the impact of the global economy. Products are made from materials that come from all over the world, made by tools from all over the world, and made in factories all over the world.

I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread so far! We really do want to listen to the demands and desires of the fly fishing community.

It is almost impossible to make reels in the USA at an affordable price.

I guess that depends on what you mean by affordable. Tibor, Nautilus, Ross, Mako, Hatch,Waterworks and others seem to be doing alright.

Quote:

Today a product only has to 51% manufactured in the states to carry the label "made in the USA".

Only? lf 51% of everything sold in this country were manufactured in the US, we wouldn't have a whopping trade deficit nor an unemployment problem of nation crushing severity.

We don't grow the food we eat, manufacture the refrigerators to store it, the ovens and microwaves to cook it, the dishes and utensils to eat it with, the shoes we walk in, the clothes we wear, the gas we burn or the vehicles we burn it in.

There are only three ways to "create" wealth and that's to mine it, grow it, or manufacture it. Nothing else does anything but shift "money" around at best, and in our case it goes mostly overseas or south of the border.

The higher the percentage of people in a country efficiently engaged in high value-added endeavors , the greater the wealth per capita of that country. So even if all the stainless plate my stamper uses for my parts comes from Canada, the finished products I sell back to Canada have a great deal more value added and cost them a lot more than the sheets of stainless they sent here.

The MSC catalog lists tooling by specific "Manufacturer" "American Made", "Quality Import", and "Import'. So, biased as I am, as a manufacturer of a product myself, buying other Amerian Made products is top on my list - even if it's just a few left-hand screw machine drills.